EGA announces new president

The European Generic medicines Association has announced current executive board member Gudbjorg Edda Eggertsdottir as its new president

The European Generic medicines Association (EGA) has announced current executive board member Gudbjorg Edda Eggertsdottir as its new president.

Eggertsdottir has worked in the generic medicines industry for 30 years, with experience at companies such as Actavis, where she is currently deputy CEO, and Delta, where her roles included managing director of exports and development.

In her new role, Eggertsdottir will work to increase patient access to generic medicines, including the lobbying of policy makers.

She said: "We need to work with the national governments to promote sustainable pricing systems for our products, and to convince them that the best way forward is to promote demand for our products and to increase generic penetration."

To achieve this, patients need access to generic medicines immediately once a brand drug's patent has expired, according to Eggertsdottir.

She also called for closer relationships between regional generic medicines organisations, stating: "We cannot live with separate development programmes for Europe, US and Japan – not only is this unethical, it is also simply far too costly."